Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans. That does a number on our health

NPR
9m read
A layer of smog lingers above downtown Los Angeles in 2024. Millions of Americans are still breathing in unhealthy air, despite long-term progress toward cleaning up many sources of pollution, according to the 2025 State of the Air report.

Despite improvements in air quality in past decades, 156 million Americans still breathe in too much soot or ozone, says the annual State of the Air report from the American Lung Association.

(Image credit: ETIENNE LAURENT)

www.npr.org